A record-breaking cold snap swept through the region on Thanksgiving, killing dozens of sea turtles on Cape Cod and plunging Mount Washington into record-setting cold temperatures.
The National Weather Service said Thursday’s big chill made it the coldest Nov. 22 on record in Providence, Hartford, and Worcester.
The mercury plunged to 11 degrees in Hartford, breaking the previous record of 14 degrees set in 1969.
It also dropped to 15 degrees in Providence, beating the previous low mark of 16 degrees set in 1969 and matched in 1987; and Worcester recorded 7 degrees, breaking the prior record of 11. In Maine, records were set for Portland and Augusta, where it got down to 6 degrees and 4 degrees, respectively.
Before Thursday, Portland’s coldest low temperature on Thanksgiving was 7 degrees in 1978.
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Cold Records Smashed Across Eastern Canada
In many parts of Canada, the final month of fall started off feeling a lot more like winter.
At one point early Thursday morning, 11 of Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial capitals were experiencing below-freezing temperatures. The exceptions were St. John’s, N.L. – which just barely snuck above freezing at 0.1 C – and Victoria, where it was a balmy 8 C.
Record-breaking cold was reported in dozens of communities across Eastern Canada, including Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Environment Canada said more than 20 communities in Ontario experienced temperatures Thursday morning colder than they had ever recorded on Nov. 22.
A much older record was broken in Ottawa, where thermometers at the Canadian Department of Agriculture plunged to -18.7 C – more than four degrees colder than the previous Nov. 22 low, which was set in 1895.